Step By Step Process For IVF and Egg Donation in India

1. What the Intended Parents Need to Do

The First Decision you need to make is how badly you want a baby. We strongly suggest you have a long discussion with your partner and discuss both the personal and financial commitment that it takes to go through the egg donation and if needed, the surrogacy process.

In summary, using an Egg Donor in the USA will typically cost around $16,000 for donor fees and about the same for IVF Centre costs, or a total of about $32,000.

If you are willing to go to India and use an Indian Egg Donor the cost will be around $12,000 plus travel costs to New Delhi of about $3,000 or so for a 10 day stay. See section on Indian IVF for details.

We have both options available through our agency.

2. Medical Tests and Investigation Results

Before starting the process of choosing a donor, you need to choose a fertility clinic in the USA or Canada and get checked to ensure you are medically ready to proceed down this very exciting path. What this means on a practical level, is that your most recent blood tests and pelvic ultrasound are not more than one year old. Your chosen fertility clinic will ask you to complete a Medical Information Questionnaire, providing the results of all your most recent tests.

If you need a recommendation on a IVF Clinic to use in the USA or in India, we can give you some excellent recommendations.

The clinic will require copies of your test results (no older than 12 months), so start collecting the results ASAP and forward them directly to the clinic. Unfortunately the clinic will not start any treatment without receiving your results first. Although clinics do vary as to which results they require, most of them will ask you to provide copies of the following tests:

Female Partner:

A:Blood tests:

HIV I & II antibodies

RPR/VDRL/TPHA (Syphilis)

Hepatitis B surface antigen

Hepatitis C antibodies

Rubella IgG (immunity)

Day 3 FSH

TSH

Prolactin

B:Transvaginal ultrasound scan of the pelvis

C:Other:

*HSG (hysterosalpingogram) or hysteroscopy or saline infusion sonogram(* not compulsory but might be requested by your treating Doctor after reviewing your medical history and ultrasound scan result)

*Laparoscopy report if available(* not compulsory but might be requested by your treating Doctor after reviewing your medical history)

Male Partner:

A:Blood tests:

HIV I & II antibodies

RPR/VDRL/TPHA (Syphilis)

Hepatitis B surface antigen

Hepatitis C antibodies

B: Semen analysis

Typically you can see one. adult photos with intended and a baby and toddler photos of the donor with you. In order to assist you with making the right choice, you are welcome to send us recent photo of yourself and we will guide you in making a choice that is right for you.

India has excellent IVF Clinics, provided you go to the right ones. The higher end clinics we recommend are spotlessly clean, hygienic, very luxurious and with top quality doctors and nurse in support.

Summary of the donation process

In terms of how the process works at the clinic, it will resemble something similar to this:

The clinic will require that you forward all your test results and medical history to them. This process can run simultaneously with the donor selection and screening process. However, the results need to be current (not older than 12 months)

The donors results will be available within 7 working days from her appointment date

As soon as this is received and we have all your completed documents and results we can plan your cycle. Your arrival can normally be 8 weeks or more from the donor’s first appointment.

The donor will be taking the oral contraceptive pill from day 1 of her period following her appointment. She must be on this for at least 1 month/more

If your cycles are regular we will use the most appropriate period date for you to start your medication to synchronize your cycle with that of the donor.

If your cycles are irregular we will advice that you also take the pill (if there are no contraindications) to regulate your period

Your medication: You will take a Leuprorelin depot injection (Lucrin) on day 1 of your period which should start between 2 and 6 weeks prior to your arrival date in India . This will suppress the release of FSH and LH in your system and therefore prevent follicles from growing and ovulation.

Two weeks prior to your arrival you will start with Estradiol tablets to thicken the lining of the womb.

The donor’s cycle will be planned so that she is on day 10 of her cycle when you have your first appointment . She starts her injections on day 3 of her cycle and will have scans on day 8, 10 and 12 with retrieval on day 14. This is the norm and depends on her response.

At your first appointment a lining scan will be done and you and your partner will have a consultation with the treating doctor and sign consent for the procedure.

If your lining is fine you will continue the same dosage of estradiol tablets.

The donor is normally ready for egg retrieval on her day 14 (your 5th day in India )

On this day your partner must provide a sample in the morning. You will also start with Progesterone injections on this day.

The day after the egg retrieval the lab will inform you about the fertilization and also tell you when transfer is expected.

Embryo transfer takes place 3-5 days after retrieval depending on the number of eggs retrieved, number that fertilized and quality and quantity of embryos on day 3

We always plan for day 5 transfer and advice that patients can travel home 2 days after embryo transfer.

This constitutes a 12 day stay in India

Your pregnancy test is performed 10 days after embryo transfer and can be done at home

If you are pregnant you will continue taking the estradiol tablets and progesterone injections for 6 more weeks and can then stop.

Appendix The donor’s psychological assessment and counselling

Although we pre-screen our egg donors as much as we are able to, we are not qualified to make a professional assessment of the donor’s eligibility to donate. This need to be done by a qualified professional. Each donor is required to have a medical and psychological assessment and counselling before being declared fit to donate. As with all people the donor's lives change and their mental and physical health also changes, hence the screening is done at the time of the match. The medical assessment needs to be repeated every time the donor donates and the psychological assessment once a year.

The purpose of the assessment is threefold:

The counselling aspect includes ensuring that the donor has thought through her offer to donate thoroughly and that she has the emotional capacity and social support to enter into a donation process.

Based on the above, the psychologist will make a determination that the donation will not be psychologically harmful to the donor – in other words – to ensure that the donor is psychologically healthy enough to donate

Lastly, the assessment includes gaining an accurate understanding of her and her family's mental health.

During this process a family history of mental illness/challenges may be identified. This information might not have been noted on the donor’s profile as she may not have been aware of the illness/challenge at the time of completing the agency information, or she may not have been able to provide all the relevant information with regards to the illness/challenge at the time of completing her application to be a donor.

Should the psychologist become aware of any mental illness/challenge the donor or her immediate family has she will notify you via email. This will allow you to ask any further questions you may have.